The letter is addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.

It raises concerns over Spain's ability to protect its border against illegal migration. It was signed by the leaders of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden, as well as Estonia.

Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast, bordered by Morocco. The territory is one of the European Union's external borders but does not belong to the Schengen area.

The incident comes amid growing tensions between Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and several European leaders, who have expressed support for temporarily removing Spain from the Schengen area.

"We cannot allow uncontrolled mass crossings, the instrumentalization of migration or other hybrid threats to create the perception that illegal entry into the European Union is possible. That a migrant's illegal entry can turn into legal stay," reads the joint communique, initiated by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and published on Saturday.

While almost all of the tens of thousands of migrants have now returned to Morocco, with none crossing into the EU mainland, POLITICO reported, the 22 leaders raised "serious concern" over the threat to the EU's frontier and Sánchez's move to grant legal status to up to 1.2 million unauthorized migrants, a move they say fueled the crisis.

"We have a duty to effectively deter and relentlessly combat illegal migration, by coordinating our action, strengthening our external borders and addressing all policies that can serve as pull factors, such as the regularization of [a] very large number of irregular migrants," the letter went on.

The developments in Ceuta are deeply concerning.

Estonia stands in full solidarity with Spain as it faces unprecedented migration pressure. Spain has both the right and the responsibility to protect its borders – and the European Union's external border.

No one has the right…

— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) July 31, 2026

Estonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna called the recent situation in Ceuta "deeply concerning," adding "Estonia stands in full solidarity with Spain as it faces unprecedented migration pressure."

"Spain has both the right and the responsibility to protect its borders – and the European Union's external border. No one has the right to enter the European Union without abiding by our common rules. Respect for those rules is essential to safeguarding the integrity of the Schengen Area," Tsahkna went on.

Von der Leyen confirmed that she had received the letter and appeared to agree with its main message, noting on social media "The images coming from Ceuta are unacceptable. We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules," and stating the Commission had offered support to Spain from the outset.

The images coming from Ceuta are unacceptable.

We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules.

Dangerous crossings must stop immediately. Smuggling networks must be dismantled. And returns must be swift, as our rules allow.

I tasked two Commissioners…

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 31, 2026

The European Commission also said it is working closely with Spain and Morocco, a key EU migration partner, toward a strategic partnership. It rejected excluding Spain from Schengen, saying no migrants moved from Ceuta into the rest of the EU.

The heads of government have also proposed holding a video meeting of interior ministers on Tuesday to agree on further steps. Ireland, the current holder of the EU presidency, announced the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council will also meet on Tuesday to discuss the issue.

POLITICO reported that the increasingly isolated Sánchez hit back, saying his EU partners were responding in a "selfish" and "unlawful" manner over the Ceuta incident. Madrid has rejected claims that the migrant legalisation program caused the Ceuta crisis; none of those who entered Ceuta illegally meet the conditions of the program, Spain says.

Sánchez also rejected accusations that Spain is unable to protect the EU's external borders, citing data showing that between 2021 and 2026 Spain recorded half as many illegal border crossings as Italy, whose prime minister has now become one of Madrid's harshest critics by introducing temporary border controls on air and sea travel arriving from Spain.

The Spanish prime minister also stressed that Ceuta does not belong to the Schengen area and already has its own border and security controls.

Temporarily removing Spain from the Schengen area has the current backing of both right-wing politicians such as Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen and left-of-center leaders such as Denmark's Frederiksen.

Morocco is included on the EU list of safe countries of origin, meaning that asylum applications from Moroccan citizens are not treated as priority.

The letter also stated the video meeting should discuss options for strengthening support from the European border agency Frontex to Spain – even though Madrid has not officially requested that assistance.

Over 50,000 people, mainly of Moroccan origin, entered Ceuta illegally Thursday and Friday in scenes which were widely filmed. As of Sunday evening, however, the bulk of these – at least 48,000 people – had returned to Moroccan territory.

Latest reports stated at least 72 people died during the border crossing, including as a result of drowning and in a stampede, and around 1,000 people required medical attention.

Morocco had stated about 40,000 people headed to Ceuta following misinformation on the situation with Ceuta, and from human trafficking networks.

Far-right Spanish politicians have also capitalized on the incident by visiting Ceuta, prompting counter-protests from local residents.

Estonia's Prime Minister Kristen Michal has said that the Schengen Area must remain intact.

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